Art Gallery
Throughout the year, the walls of the Clubhouse host the work of different artists.
April
Annie Larochette
Vernissage - Sunday 9 April, 15 - 17 hours
To paraphrase the artist:
" There are several ways of escaping routine, daily grind and the little annoyances of professional life......since my early childhood, I have chosen two ways in particular of escaping; one through travel and the other through pictorial art. It is easy to combine the two so that doors open revealing memories and dreams.I would be happy if you would join me and my paintings on this journey"
Annie Larochette
Vernissage - Sunday 9 April, 15 - 17 hours
To paraphrase the artist:
" There are several ways of escaping routine, daily grind and the little annoyances of professional life......since my early childhood, I have chosen two ways in particular of escaping; one through travel and the other through pictorial art. It is easy to combine the two so that doors open revealing memories and dreams.I would be happy if you would join me and my paintings on this journey"
March
Born in Belgium, Alberte Lemens grew up in a family where drawing and painting were considered a 'gift'. In 1996 she
started watercolour classes with the well known painter and teacher Michel Bocart. Covering theory and practice and working both inside and outside (Venice, Bruges...), she rapidly progressed, encouraged by the renowned professors Odette Feller, Jeanine Gallizia and Bei An Cao, the latter of whom taught her to elevate the watercolour technique to its highest. Aberte has used watercolours for different subjects and has developed an abstract style over a period of ten years.
Changing to use acrylic and oil, her work , first figurative, soon became more abstract allowing much more freedom for imagination and creativity. Inspiration now mostly comes from nature, land and sea and from the urban environment. Playing with mixed media guides Alberte through an amazing creative process while using shapes and
superimposing colour. Materials which sometimes recall the watercolour technique add fluidity to her work. Whether it is the struggle with the media or its experimentation, the final composition has a good balance of colours, shapes and texture.
"If my painting moves the viewer, stirs his soul, or just pleases the aesthetics, then I have reached my goal". And as Salvador Dali puts it: "The viewer is the ultimate artist".
The March Gallery shows the artist’s work is temporarily back to figurative for a series of sailing ships and sea views, and half figurative for a series of pictures of New York and its skyline.
Alberte Lemmens has chosen not to have a vernissage but friends and family of club members are welcome to view her paintings during clubhouse opening hours.
Linda Davidson - Gallery Coordinator
Artist: Alberte Lemens
February
Jeanette Bell started painting at art classes when she first moved from the UK to Belgium 30 years ago. Whilst
packing and moving house 15 years ago she came across her old oil paints in the garage. Delighted to find most of them were still in good condition she started painting in the house in the evenings and at weekends.
The next stage was a return to art classes and Jeanette has been with RHOK Art Academy in Etterbeek ever since (some ten years now). Her interest in art started at school and she always looked forward to the art lesson, it was much easier than doing Maths!
Jeanette has worked with both oil and acrylic paints but as oil takes so long to dry she started using acrylics which dry very fast. When considering her painting style Jeanette believes it’s a bit like writing; it could slant to the left or right, be small or large, even or uneven, and she sees painting in the same way.
Recently her teacher said she has multiple styles; Jeanette jokingly said “I'm not sure if she was trying to say I
have multiple personalities”. Portraits are what Jeanette particularly enjoys painting and she says she
wouldn't feel inclined to paint a battle scene nor anything with too much fine detail. She likes to decide on a subject, paint it, finish it and move on to the next painting. Sometimes she can have three or four paintings going at the same time (variety is the spice of life as they say.
Jeanette’s most unexpected “art” moment happened when she put a lightly painted portrait of a tiny girl into a second-hand shop to sell and someone from the props department of one of the Belgian TV stations bought it to decorate the scene on one of their programmes!
Rasma Kass comes from what could be called an artistic background as her mother was a talented florist working
independently and selling her dried flower collages on London’s Bayswater Road along with many other types of artists. Rasma grew up amongst those artists where she spent time with her parents every Sunday as she grew up. However apart from making greetings cards she didn't feel wildly creative. Her friends encouraged her to take up painting for quite some time before she actually did in 2014.
As she has always been a big fan of the Impressionists her first ever painting was a copy of Monet's
'Bordighera'. Her son, aged 10 at the time, fell in love with the painting, maybe because it reminded him of family holidays in the South of France and it still hangs in his bedroom.
One week at Rasma’s art class the teacher introduced pointillism as a technique. Ever since then this is the
style Rasma has become known for. She uses cotton buds, acrylic paints and pointillism to capture the essence of a city.
Rasma is also an avid fan of recycling things and she is always experimenting with interesting materials to use for collages. So far she enjoys working with used Nespresso capsules and sea glass which she collects whenever she is on a beach holiday. She was once visiting a friend who had a print of the "Rainbow fish" on the wall and became so inspired she rushed off home immediately to do her own Nespresso version of it.
Rasma believes that artists are evolving all the time and she is curious to see where she goes from here.
Jeanette and Rasma are having their vernissage at the Clubhouse on Sunday 12 February from 15.00 to 17.00.
Club Members, family and friends are most welcome to join the artists.
Linda Davidson/KathyWhalley, Gallery Coordinators
Jeanette Bell started painting at art classes when she first moved from the UK to Belgium 30 years ago. Whilst
packing and moving house 15 years ago she came across her old oil paints in the garage. Delighted to find most of them were still in good condition she started painting in the house in the evenings and at weekends.
The next stage was a return to art classes and Jeanette has been with RHOK Art Academy in Etterbeek ever since (some ten years now). Her interest in art started at school and she always looked forward to the art lesson, it was much easier than doing Maths!
Jeanette has worked with both oil and acrylic paints but as oil takes so long to dry she started using acrylics which dry very fast. When considering her painting style Jeanette believes it’s a bit like writing; it could slant to the left or right, be small or large, even or uneven, and she sees painting in the same way.
Recently her teacher said she has multiple styles; Jeanette jokingly said “I'm not sure if she was trying to say I
have multiple personalities”. Portraits are what Jeanette particularly enjoys painting and she says she
wouldn't feel inclined to paint a battle scene nor anything with too much fine detail. She likes to decide on a subject, paint it, finish it and move on to the next painting. Sometimes she can have three or four paintings going at the same time (variety is the spice of life as they say.
Jeanette’s most unexpected “art” moment happened when she put a lightly painted portrait of a tiny girl into a second-hand shop to sell and someone from the props department of one of the Belgian TV stations bought it to decorate the scene on one of their programmes!
Rasma Kass comes from what could be called an artistic background as her mother was a talented florist working
independently and selling her dried flower collages on London’s Bayswater Road along with many other types of artists. Rasma grew up amongst those artists where she spent time with her parents every Sunday as she grew up. However apart from making greetings cards she didn't feel wildly creative. Her friends encouraged her to take up painting for quite some time before she actually did in 2014.
As she has always been a big fan of the Impressionists her first ever painting was a copy of Monet's
'Bordighera'. Her son, aged 10 at the time, fell in love with the painting, maybe because it reminded him of family holidays in the South of France and it still hangs in his bedroom.
One week at Rasma’s art class the teacher introduced pointillism as a technique. Ever since then this is the
style Rasma has become known for. She uses cotton buds, acrylic paints and pointillism to capture the essence of a city.
Rasma is also an avid fan of recycling things and she is always experimenting with interesting materials to use for collages. So far she enjoys working with used Nespresso capsules and sea glass which she collects whenever she is on a beach holiday. She was once visiting a friend who had a print of the "Rainbow fish" on the wall and became so inspired she rushed off home immediately to do her own Nespresso version of it.
Rasma believes that artists are evolving all the time and she is curious to see where she goes from here.
Jeanette and Rasma are having their vernissage at the Clubhouse on Sunday 12 February from 15.00 to 17.00.
Club Members, family and friends are most welcome to join the artists.
Linda Davidson/KathyWhalley, Gallery Coordinators
Artist: Chantal Hendrickx Willaerts
January
The painter who will be showing at the club in January, is called Chantal Hendrickx Willaerts. She is the youngest of a family of eight children, and has loved painting and drawing since her early years.
She got married and had two children of her own, and only at the age of 40 did she find the opportunity to sign up to her first drawing classes. She followed the course at the Lillois workshops, where she attended for three years.
She then studied multi-media at the Braine L’Alleud art school for three more years, from 2009 to 2012, followed by painting under Michel Bocard for another two years. She followed various classes with the following artists: Cao ei-An, Yves Fagniat, R. Palmaerts, Odette Feller, Pelagie Berquin, JLMorelle, Slava Prishedko, Viktoria
Prishedko, Jeanine Gallizia, Fabien Petillion, Chritianne Javaux, Catherine Somellette, Pierre Chariot….
Chantal captures the expression by achieving transparency in bright yet not aggressive colours. She loves the play on water reflecting the soul of nature. She believes each painting is part of the journey of life, and should be expressed and shared.
Using water colours, oils or even sketches, the subjects of her paintings wonder and share the lightness of feeling and sensitivity of each one of us.
Chantal is organizing a vernissage for her paintings at the Clubhouse on Sunday 15 January from 15.00 to 17.00. Please come, you will be most welcome, and this is an opportunity to support an artist, as well as having a chat and a drink at the Club.
Kathy Whalley
Assistant Gallery Organiser
The painter who will be showing at the club in January, is called Chantal Hendrickx Willaerts. She is the youngest of a family of eight children, and has loved painting and drawing since her early years.
She got married and had two children of her own, and only at the age of 40 did she find the opportunity to sign up to her first drawing classes. She followed the course at the Lillois workshops, where she attended for three years.
She then studied multi-media at the Braine L’Alleud art school for three more years, from 2009 to 2012, followed by painting under Michel Bocard for another two years. She followed various classes with the following artists: Cao ei-An, Yves Fagniat, R. Palmaerts, Odette Feller, Pelagie Berquin, JLMorelle, Slava Prishedko, Viktoria
Prishedko, Jeanine Gallizia, Fabien Petillion, Chritianne Javaux, Catherine Somellette, Pierre Chariot….
Chantal captures the expression by achieving transparency in bright yet not aggressive colours. She loves the play on water reflecting the soul of nature. She believes each painting is part of the journey of life, and should be expressed and shared.
Using water colours, oils or even sketches, the subjects of her paintings wonder and share the lightness of feeling and sensitivity of each one of us.
Chantal is organizing a vernissage for her paintings at the Clubhouse on Sunday 15 January from 15.00 to 17.00. Please come, you will be most welcome, and this is an opportunity to support an artist, as well as having a chat and a drink at the Club.
Kathy Whalley
Assistant Gallery Organiser
